Apple targets 40 ex-staff now at OpenAI

Apple has reportedly sent legal preservation letters to around 40 former employees now working at OpenAI, according to the Financial Times, as the company broadens its trade-secret fight against the startup.

The move follows Apple’s lawsuit last week accusing former employees of stealing trade secrets “for the benefit of OpenAI.” A preservation letter is a formal notice telling recipients to keep documents, records, and other material that could matter in a legal dispute. These notices typically specify what evidence must be retained.

According to the report, Apple believes the alleged trade-secret theft could reach beyond the people named in its initial complaint. That filing names OpenAI and io Products as defendants, along with former Apple employees Chang Liu and Tang Tan.

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So far, the new detail is not a fresh claim in court but a sign that Apple is trying to preserve potential evidence from a wider group of former staff as the case develops. The letters suggest the company is looking beyond the individuals already identified in the lawsuit.

OpenAI has previously said it has seen no evidence supporting Apple’s trade-secret theft allegations. Apple’s initial filing remains the core document in the dispute as both sides prepare for the next stage.